Improvement in rotary steam-engines



UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea@ WILLIAM GOODWIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND VILLIAM H. HOLLAND, OF SAME PLAOE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. LQQQS, dated January 9,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GOODWIN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved RotarySteam-Engine; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described inthe following specification and represented in the accompanyingdrawings, of which- Figure lis a longitudinal andvertical section, andFig. 2 a side elevation, of an engine of my improved construction. Fig.3 is a vertical section of the said engine, the said section being takenin a plane at right angles tothe main shaft of the engine.

In such drawings, A denotes the case of the engine, it being formed withan annular steamchamber, B, and also so as to receive a disk or wheel,@,xed on a main shaft, D, which is placed concentrically through theengine. A piston, D, to travel within the chamber B is fixed to thecircumference ofthe disk. A gate, E, arranged in the space F opening`laterally out of the case, plays across the steam-chamber B and into andout of it, such gate being attached to a slider, Gr, which is arrangedon the outside of the case A and is moved vertically by two cams, H I,applied to the shaft D, one of the said cams serving to raise and theother to depress the slider during each entire revolution ofthe shaft.Avalve-chest, K, is placed on the top of the case A, and is providedwith `two ports, a a, to lead from it into the annular-chamber B, thesaid ports being arranged on opposite sides of the gate E, in manner as4represented in Fig. 3. There are also two other ports, b b, leading outof the steam-chamber K and alongside of the ports a a and into anannular eduction-rmssage L, formed within the case A and arrangedconcentrically with the annular steam-chamber B. Au opening, M, arrangedat the lower part-of the passage L, conducts the waste steam therefrom.A reversing-valve, N, formed as shown in Fig. 3-viz., with two archedchambers, ej', and two steam-passages, c d, arranged with respect to oneanother, as shown in Fig. 3-is placed within the chamber K.

By moving the valve within the chamber by means of a lever, L, suitablyapplied to such valve we may either cause the passage c to open into oneof the ports c, or the passage d to open into the other port a, in whichcase steam from the chest K may be introduced into either port a., so asto put the piston in movement, the waste steam being discharged 'fromthe other port a, and through one of the valve-chambers and into thepassage.

The valve N is simply for' the purpose of effecting a reverse motion ofthe piston within the annular cylinder, the valve-chest K being situatedin advance of the main valve-chainber O and its valve I), and made tocommunicate with the chamber O by means of a conduit, It. Thevalve-chamber O is cylindrical, and contains a tubular valve, I?, thecommon axis of the said valve and chamber being arranged vertical] Fig.4 is a horizontal section ofthe said valve P and its chamber, and thesteam conduits T R, leading out of the same. The said valve P has aport,h, made through itto operate with a port, e', leading from the chest Ointo the conduit It. An opening, g, made through the valve P, serves toconvey into the valve P steam from the induction-pipe T, which shouldlead from a steam-generator into the chamber O. While the gate E may bein motion and the piston D may be in the act of passing it, no steamshould pass from the valve-chest O into the valve-chest K, and,therefore, during such time the passage or port h should be beyond thepassage or portg, and notin conjunction withit.

The mechanism for operating the valve P that is, for turning it a shortdistance in one direction and afterward or nextmovin g it back to place,so that the ports h t' may be in conjunctionconsists of three beveledtap-wheels, U V NV, the said wheel U being applied to the lower end ofthe shaft S of the valve P. The upper wheel, U, contains two teeth ortappets, k l, each of the other wheels, V W, having but one tooth ortappet m, the whole being as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, which are sideviews of such tappet-wheels. The wheels V W are fastened on the mainshaft D and arranged with respect to the wheel U in manner asrepresented, the tappets of the wheels V W being so arranged that duringeach revolution ofthe shaft they may be caused to act on the tappets 7clin such manner as to produce the necessary opening and closing ot' thevalve I.

I contemplate applying two of such engines,

as above described, on one shaft and with their pistons so arranged withrespect to one another that each may be operated by steam, While steamis out off from the other. In this way each engine Will aid the pistonofthe other in passing its gate.

I do not elaiin the gate E, the annular cylinder B, the wheel C, and thepiston D, to be combined and to operate together as a rotary engine; but

Vhat I do claim as my invention is as follows:

l. The arrangement of the two sets of inlet and outlet ports a b, theannular eduetion-passage L, and the reversing-valve N, with the chamberK, the annular cylinder B, the Wheel C, piston D, and gate E, the wholebeing to operate together, substantiallvxT as hereinbefore speeilied.

2. The combination, as Well as the arrangement of the beveledtappeti-Wheels U VW, and the main valve P and its chest O, with theshaft D, and the rotary engine made and applied to such shaft,substantially as above described, the two steam-chests O K beingconnected by a conduit, R, as explained.

WM. GOODWIN.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr.

